Heirloom Hearts Quilt Pattern - the Cover quilt
Heirloom Hearts quilt pattern is now available!!
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This pattern is been in the works for several years! It's actually a little strange how it came to be. I was playing around with a design that was inspired that a quilt that my grandmother made (an attic window quilt). I kept tweaking things and changing around different ideas until I eventually landed on a heart motif. From there, I started brainstorming different ideas to jazz it up a little. I toyed around with cornerstones and negative space, but ultimately, I landed on a classic Irish chain. ( I would show you a photo of said inspiration quilt, but it's all packed away because of the move! Once I unpack it I'll show ya!)
While this quilt was ultimately a derivative of a quilt that my grandmother made, it felt a little too far from her work to include it in the Lois Quilt Collection. I think I'll eventually create a different take on her attic window quilt.
This is actually my second quilt pattern to include an Irish chain. My Celtic Crossing 2.0 quilt pattern, which I recently revamped in 2021 has a more basic and large "chain". With Heirloom Hearts, I wanted something that felt a little more dainty and vintage. I love how the little square form a large overarching design, but it also feels a touch like lace, or old cross-stitching on a handmade pillow.
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For this cover quilt, I wanted it to feel fun and vibrant for Valentines Day. Using the blue as the Background fabric was a little unexpected for me, since I don't sew with a lot of blues, but it was fun to take a risk. I hope to do more of that in 2022!
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Here's a list of the fabrics that I used for this quilt. They're all Kona Solids by Robert Kaufman.
- Background - Slate
- Chain - Snow
- Hearts - Deep Rose, Pomegranate, Camilla, Med. Pink, Blush Pink, Pink, Foxglove
- Binding - Slate
We have kits for this Heirloom Hearts in our shop! (Plus other kits!)
For the backing, I used "Happily Ever After" by Art Gallery Fabrics. I've been holding onto this fabric in my stash for what seems like forever! I've never made a "heart" or Valentines day quilt before, but I hoped to one day! This was the perfect fabric to have on hand. We have this fabric in our shop as well!
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What I really love about this kit is that it is very precut friendly! Use precut 10" squares, fat eighths, fat quarters or 1/4 yards. For the chain, you can choose yardage, use scraps or precut 1.5" strips. The backing does need to come from yardage...at least for the WOF strips. I do have a breakdown of all of the Background pieces needed in case you want to use up fabrics from your scrap bin. (I did this for my Crib size Heirloom Hearts quilt! There will be a blog post for that soon!)
Here's a look at the fabric requirements:
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The pattern is rated as "Advanced Beginner." If you feel confident in your 1/4" seam allowance, you should be good to go! Some other techniques that are used in the pattern are "stitch & flip" and strip piecing. The Heirloom Hearts Quilt Along kicks off next week on January 10th, so if you would like a few extra tips and tricks, plus accountability, motivation and community...then feel free to find more information here!
Since we were (and still are) in the throes of moving, my assistant, Kara (@hollandhomesteaddesigns) pieced this quilt top for me! Once it was finished, she sent it straight to Andrea of Walker Quilt Co. We ended up going with the "Chunky Knit" pantograph from Simply Fabulous Quilting. I love that this added another layer of that handmade/ vintage/cross-stitch vibe that I mentioned earlier.
We took this quilt to the Art Museum in Raleigh for photographs. Not-so-fun fact: it actually got slightly lost in the mail on it's way back from Walker Quilt Co. It was untrackable for over a week, which nearly gave me a heart attack. One night it magically appeared on our porch around 9pm (we never get mail that late!) and I could've literally cried! This might be why I'm so lovingly looking at this quilt in these photos...haha!
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I wanted to get some "flat lay" photos of the quilt and the Art Museum has this really gorgeous black wall that was perfect for the job! Duct tape wasn't doing the trick, but Command Strips worked like a charm!
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I was tired taking photos at this point, so I had Peter hop in for a few of the shots. He always manages to make me laugh. :)
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We're in the middle of an incredibly busy season. If you missed our announcement, we just started renting studio space in our new hometown of Black Mountain, NC. We *also* are in the middle of moving our personal things and getting settled in our new (to us) home. We are basically living out of boxes and if you've ever moved before, you know how stressful that can be. It's been both a trying time for us, but also the start of an extremely exciting adventure! This last photo isn't my favorite It's slightly blurry and crooked and Peter has a crazed look in his eye (haha) but I love it for the fact that it's a little snapshot into our life as we know it. A little crazy....but you can't deny the love that's there.
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Whether you are making this as a Valentine's Day, anniversary or birthday quilt (or simply a quilt just because!) I hope that it brings you a little reminder that love is all around us.
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Don't forget! All patterns are 15% off through Sunday, January 9th!
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LINKS:
